The Hereafter Story

by Master Argus

After all this time, Homura Akemi has fulfilled her promise to her beloved Madoka, who now lives in an ideal world free from Kyubey's machinations. But to do so, Homura had to become a demon and suppress Madoka's godhood. How will things play out in this new world, and how long can Homura sustain the illusion? My idea for what happens Post-Rebellion.

9. Seems I couldn't defy fate after all

Nagisa's Soul Gem was struck by Madoka's ethereal arrow. As it absorbed Madoka's magic and gradually regained its color, Nagisa slowly regained consciousness. The last thing the white-haired magical girl remembered was escorting Hildegard's victims out of the labyrinth, then suddenly collapsing in the middle of a conversation with Momo. Before she could remember anything else, she looked up to see an apparition of Madoka floating just above her.

Listen, I don't have much time. Madoka's apparition spoke to her telepathically. Kyubey's Soul Gem has become a Grief Seed and we're trapped in his labyrinth. Kyubey is- The apparition disappeared.

Once she fully regained consciousness, Nagisa removed the ventilator from her mouth and sat up in her gurney. She looked around to find herself in the middle of the evacuation center. To her horror, she saw her father and Ms. Saotome lurching towards the exit. Each of them bore a kiss resembling Kyubey's face on their necks. Nagisa tried to get their attention, but both were completely unresponsive.

"Oh, this is really bad!" Nagisa said to herself. She then got up and saw that everyone else in the building was also under the influence of Kyubey's kiss. The entire population of Mitakihara City was here, and all of them were slowly making their way towards the front doors. As much as it pained her to leave her father and Ms. Saotome like this, the only thing she could do to help them was to destroy the source of the kiss.

Nagisa hurried past the zombified crowd to the front door of the evacuation center. Momo was already there fending off the people closest to the door, trying to prevent them from getting out. "Good, you're up." Momo said to Nagisa. "Can you help me with this?"

"Gotcha." Nagisa blew her trumpet, summoning several Polinas. At Nagisa's command, the nurse-like familiars pushed the crowd back away from the doors. She and Momo then stepped outside. The two magical girls grabbed some nearby rubble and used it to barricade the doors. That wouldn't keep the citizens of Mitakihara City in there for very long, but hopefully it would at least buy Nagisa and Momo enough time to save them.

"You heard from Madoka, too?" Momo asked.

"Yeah, I did." Nagisa replied as she dismissed the Polinas. "I guess Kyubey finally lost it."

The two magical girls turned around to observe the ruins of Mitakihara City, their attention drawn to the ominous dark cloud several kilometers away. No doubt that was where Kyubey had set up his labyrinth, and was attempting to lure everyone in the city to. "I sure wish we brought Saint Walpurga with us now." Momo said.

"Yeah, that'd be helpful." Nagisa replied. "I never imagined this'd end up falling on us. Two of the youngest, least experienced magical girls in history facing off against an entity this powerful. I mean, you know how quickly I witched out."

"You still lasted longer than I did." Not wanting to think about what happened back then, Momo changed the subject. "Anyway, we should get going." Momo summoned a pair of Sebastians out of the shadows. She and Nagisa each mounted one and rode them across the city, eventually landing near the smoldering remains of the Shizuki house. They felt the distorted magical energy indicative of a labyrinth all around them. In unison, Momo and Nagisa held up their Soul Gems, and a portal into Kyubey's labyrinth appeared before them. Steeling themselves for whatever horrors awaited them inside, they entered the labyrinth together.

---

Homura gritted her teeth as Kyubey's attack sapped her energy. As if the physical pain wasn't enough, strange, intrusive thoughts were entering her mind, eerily similar to those she'd experienced just before she'd transformed into a witch. She could feel herself losing the will to keep going, that she might give in and become Homulilly once again.

No, she couldn't afford to succumb to despair. Madoka needed her now more than ever. Homura blocked everything else out as she focused all her energy into activating her shield. And it just barely worked. With time stopped, she was able to slink out of Kyubey's hold on her. After struggling to stand back up, she looked behind her to find Madoka being drained by the same tendrils Homura had just escaped from. Homura grabbed Madoka and pulled her to safety just as time resumed. She then fell to her knees, heaving with exhaustion.

"Homura…" Madoka said as she knelt down beside her friend. "Are you okay?"

"I told you… to run for it." Homura said weakly.

Madoka shook her head. "You know I wouldn't-"

Well, color me impressed. Kyubey's distorted voice echoed all around them. I see you've managed to break free. Shame I can't say the same for the others.

Madoka stood up and looked around for the source of the voice, finding that she and Homura were stuck in an empty white void, with only a few black-and-white geometric shapes dotting their surroundings. The only thing that stood out was a tall ghostly figure manifesting in front of the two girls. It wore a white cloak covered in scarlet runes of an alien language, and sported a golden halo floating above its hooded head. Staring back at Madoka from under the hood were a pair of baleful crimson eyes.

"Kyubey…" Madoka whispered.

"Not anymore." the figure responded.

"Right…" Madoka read the runes on the figure's cloak. "It's Mammon, isn't it?"

"A rough translation, but if that's what you want to call me-"

"Where are our friends?!" Madoka demanded as she nocked an arrow and trained her bow on Mammon. "What have you done with them?!"

Mammon didn't answer. "See what you've pushed me to, Madoka Kaname? I tried everything I could to take control of the Law of Cycles, but you and your allies thwarted me every time. I knew I had to recapture you before you reconnected, and this was my only option left." Mammon observed his spectral white hands. "But maybe I should be thanking you. With this form, I won't have to deal with human emotions ever again. I can fulfill my contract on my own." Mammon extended his left hand and conjured a sinister-looking scythe with a crimson blade and spikes at both ends of the snathe. "After I take care of some unfinished business with you, that is." He then lurched towards Madoka, scythe at the ready.

In defiance, Homura struggled to her feet and limped over to Madoka. The dark magical girl stood between her and Mammon, wordlessly staring him down. Homura had long since vowed never to let the Incubators get their hands on Madoka, no matter the cost. Whatever form Kyubey took, whatever plans he concocted, whatever lengths he went to to get to Madoka, Homura would fight him to the bitter end.

"Oh, of course. Why should I expect anything less from you, Homura Akemi? How fitting that you'd be the last obstacle in my-" Mammon abruptly stopped monologing when he noticed Homura about to activate her shield. In response, he rushed her and stabbed the bottom end of his scythe into the shield, jamming its gears. "Sayaka Miki has been such a big help to me."

"Homura!" Madoka shot her arrow at Mammon. In one motion, Mammon knocked Homura to the floor, dodged the arrow and lunged at Madoka with his scythe. Madoka barely managed to block the swing with her bow.

As Homura lay on the floor, she tried again to activate her shield, but it didn't work. Mammon's attack had broken the time-stopping mechanism. This was perhaps the most dire situation Homura and Madoka had ever been in. Madoka was still cut off from the Law of Cycles, Homura's demonic powers were still sealed away, the Quattro Elementi were nowhere to be seen, and there was no telling when (or if) Nagisa and Momo would arrive, assuming they even stood a chance against Mammon.

But despite everything, there was a razor-thin silver lining here. In his desperation and his madness, Kyubey had exposed his soul. If Homura and her allies managed to destroy this Mammon creature, it would mean the end for all the Incubators on Earth. Of course, that would be easier said than done.

---

Once Nagisa and Momo entered the labyrinth, they looked around to find themselves in a room that appeared to have been cobbled together from elements of Octavia, Ophelia, Candeloro and Hildegard's labyrinths. The room branched off into four distinct pathways, one belonging to each of the four witches. It was obvious that each witch was lurking at the end of the pathways, and that likely meant Sayaka, Kyoko, Mami and Hitomi were being held there too.

In addition to the four pathways, there was a fifth one on the opposite end of the room. Unlike the colorful, decorated labyrinths surrounding it, this pathway was monochromatic, straightforward and mostly featureless, dotted only by some black-and-white geometric shapes floating around. Evidently it was where Kyubey, or rather Mammon, was likely hiding.

Strangely, their surroundings didn't feature anything from Kriemhild Gretchen or Homulilly's labyrinths, even though Madoka and Homura had to be in here somewhere. The most likely explanation was that Mammon hadn't taken control of their witches yet. But the fact that Mammon was still alive to maintain this labyrinth meant neither Madoka nor Homura had access to their godly powers, or they would've wiped him out in an instant. Nagisa and Momo needed to go help them, but if they were to have any hope of taking on Mammon, they'd need the help of the other four magical girls as well.

"We should split up." Nagisa said. "We'll rescue them faster that way."

"Uh, sure." Momo looked with unease at the foggy, lantern-lit bridge leading into Ophelia's portion of the labyrinth. There was no doubt that her older sister was somewhere across that bridge. Momo trembled at the mere thought of it.

Nagisa took notice. "Hey, I can go instead if you're not ready."

"No, you were right. I've been putting it off long enough." Momo conjured her bo staff. "I have to go face her." With that, Momo began crossing the bridge.

"Well, good luck then." Nagisa said right before she and Momo parted ways. The white-haired magical girl then walked off down the bright, wooded pathway into Candeloro's area.

Thanks to being part of the Law of Cycles, Momo had seen visions of the few timelines wherein Kyoko fell into despair and became a witch, painful to watch as they were. She knew exactly what awaited her ahead. As expected, she soon encountered two of Ophelia's familiars, the Zoes, wandering around. One Zoe noticed Momo and swung the torch it carried at her, but Momo knocked it away with her staff. She then struck the familiar on its side, knocking it off the side of the bridge. As it fell into the foggy abyss, the other Zoe tried to sneak up on Momo, but the magical girl spun around and delivered a fatal blow to its head. Momo then proceeded further into the labyrinth.

Before too long, Momo reached a wall of Zoes marching about. Behind them was a chain barrier blocking off the center of Ophelia's portion of the labyrinth. The Zoes noticed Momo and began their attack, but Momo countered by summoning Elsa Maria's familiars out of the nearby shadows. The Sebastians quickly devoured the Zoes, clearing Momo's way to the center room.

Momo took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for what lay beyond the chain barrier. Fighting back the temptation to disguise herself as Elsa Maria again, she swung her staff at the barrier, dealing blow after blow until it crumbled away before her. Momo then stepped into the center of the labyrinth. To her shock and horror, Momo saw her older sister suspended from the wall opposite her, bound and gagged by mystical restraints. Kyoko noticed Momo walking in and tried in vain to yell something to her. Momo made a beeline towards Kyoko. "Don't worry, Big Sis. I'm-"

Something struck Momo from behind, knocking her to the floor. Momo looked up to see Ophelia looming over her. The wǔdàn witch appeared the same as Momo had anticipated, except for a golden halo floating above her head. The halo looked exactly like the ones that adorned Kyubey's ears. No doubt it meant Ophelia was under Mammon's control. Momo wouldn't be able free her sister with Ophelia attacking her, so she'd have to destroy the wǔdàn witch first. With that, Momo stood up and readied her staff, bracing herself for the next swing of Ophelia's spear.

---

Nagisa hurried down the forest path. Normally Candeloro's familiars would be here guiding the way, but for some reason they were nowhere to be seen. Nagisa wasn't sure whether their absence was a good or bad thing, but it didn't really matter. She was here to save Mami, and the fewer obstacles in her way, the better. Besides, the path to Candeloro was straightforward by design. Nagisa hardly needed the Du Polignacs to guide her.

Before long, Nagisa made it to the small house at the center of the labyrinth. She burst through the door to find all six of Candeloro's familiars standing guard around the table. Candeloro herself stood on a tray in the middle of the table with a tiny halo above her head. Nagisa had expected such a welcome, but what she didn't expect was to see Mami tied to a chair and gagged in the back of the room.

"Hang on, Mami! I'm here to-" Aoiro-san struck Nagisa with its sword before the white-haired magical girl could finish talking. While the blow did do some damage, Nagisa noticed the blue Du Polignac wasn't hitting as hard as it did last time Nagisa was in Candeloro's labyrinth. Homura had been boosting the familiars' power back then, but Mammon didn't seem to be bothering to help Candeloro out. Either that or he was preoccupied with something else, which gave Nagisa hope that Madoka and Homura still weren't under his control.

Without any sort of outside assistance, the Du Polignacs posed no more of a threat than any other familiars. Nagisa counterattacked by blasting Aoiro-san with her trumpet point-blank. The concussive bubbles destroyed the familiar in one hit. Akairo-san charged in to avenge Aoiro-san only to meet the same fate. Nagisa effortlessly took down the other Du Polignacs until only Candeloro herself was left, at which point Nagisa simply stomped on the tiny dress-up witch to take her out.

With Candeloro destroyed, Nagisa picked up Aoiro-san's sword and used it to cut Mami's restraints. "Thanks." the yellow magical girl said as she stood up. Nagisa noticed a strange listlessness in her voice, and that Mami seemed to be avoiding eye contact with her as well.

"Hey, no problem." Nagisa replied. "Is something wrong?"

"Nagisa, I… I want to apologize." Mami said softly.

Nagisa tilted her head in confusion. "For what?"

"For lying to you for a whole month. I worked with Homura after she rewrote your memories and trapped you on Earth. I knew it wasn't real, but-"

"Oh yeah, that." Nagisa interrupted. "Don't worry about it."

Now Mami was the one confused. Sayaka had said Nagisa wasn't the type to hold a grudge, but forgiving her this easily… "Are you sure?" Mami asked. "I mean, what I did was-"

"Hey, if anything I should thank you for it. You think I'd want to go back to the Law of Cycles right away? They don't even have any cheese there. Honestly, if you and Kyoko told me the truth, I'd probably have joined in on the cover-up too." Despite Nagisa's assurance, Mami still seemed to feel a bit guilty over it. "Tell you what, you get me that Jarlsberg you promised me and we'll call it even."

For the first time in this whole conversation, Mami cracked a smile. She was kind of surprised Nagisa remembered that after a whole year, but considering it was something cheese-related, maybe that was to be expected from her. "Alright, I'll buy you a wedge after we're done here."

"Deal." Nagisa said. "Although with interest and penalties, you're up to an entire wheel."

Mami let out a tiny chuckle as the two of them exited Candeloro's area.

---

As anticipated, Ophelia took another swing at Momo with her spear. Momo barely managed to block it with her staff. She then leapt a safe distance away from Ophelia, but the wǔdàn witch quickly charged at Momo, closing the distance with ease. As long as Ophelia was on horseback, outspeeding her wouldn't be possible. And given how short Momo was, she'd have a hard time hitting Ophelia as well. The horse had to be taken out first.

With that in mind, Momo dodged Ophelia's next swing, then struck the horse with her staff. While it reared back in pain, Momo retreated a few meters away from Ophelia. The wǔdàn witch charged at her, but this time Momo was ready. She ran at Ophelia and swung her staff at the horse's front legs mid-charge. The force of Momo's attack tripped the horse and bucked Ophelia off. Momo then summoned Elsa Maria's familiars to rip the riderless horse apart while it was down.

Now that the horse was dealt with, Momo sent the Sebastians after Ophelia herself. But the wǔdàn witch easily destroyed each of the familiars with her spear. That wasn't too surprising. Mere familiars were typically no match for full-blown witches. But they did distract Ophelia just long enough for Momo to close in on her. Momo swung her staff at Ophelia, but it went straight through the witch's body with no impact. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted another Ophelia charging straight at her. Momo barely managed to get out of the way.

Momo was all too familiar with this technique. Her elder sister had possessed it before that fateful night and her subsequent disillusionment with the world. Kyoko had been able to create illusory copies of herself and use them to fool enemy witches (or wraiths in the current timeline). It stood to reason that her witch ended up inheriting it, but Ophelia wasn't the only one who did. "Two can play that game." Momo quipped. "Rosso Fantasma!"

Ophelia was suddenly surrounded by illusory copies of Momo. The witch looked around for the real one, but all of them were indistinguishable from one another. All she could do was pick one at random and rush it. And fortunately for Momo, Ophelia guessed wrong. The witch's spear went straight through one of Momo's doppelgangers. The real Momo seized the opportunity to strike Ophelia from behind with her staff, knocking the witch away.

Momo made sure not to look away from Ophelia as she continued pressing the advantage. Even if Ophelia used Rosso Phantasma again, Momo would still have her eye on the real one. Momo continued to force Ophelia back with blow after blow until the wǔdàn witch was teetering over the side of the bridge. Ophelia took one last-ditch swing at Momo, but the magical girl blocked it and knocked the spear out of Ophelia's hands. With no way for the witch to defend herself, Momo struck the final blow, sending Ophelia falling into the abyss below.

With Ophelia defeated, Momo picked up the witch's spear and used it to cut through Kyoko's restraints. Kyoko fell to the floor of the labyrinth. "Momo…" Kyoko said as Momo discarded the spear and helped Kyoko to her feet.

"Hey, Big Sis." Momo said. "I bet you're surprised to see me."

"Well, not really." Kyoko replied. "I mean, I saw your body at the evacuation center."

Momo stepped back. "Oh, you did?"

"Momo, please, just tell me what happened. Why are you a magical girl? When did you make a contract?"

Momo looked away. "It happened that one night. After you ran away, Dad kept going on and on about how you'd corrupted him and his followers with your evil witchcraft. But to tell you the truth, I thought what you were doing was really cool. You brought people back to the church, you put food back on our plates, and you were saving people from real monsters every single day. I mean, how was any of that evil?

"I told Dad what I thought of it and, well, we got into a pretty bad argument and I ended up storming off to my room. When I got there, Kyubey was sitting on my desk. He told me all about how you became a magical girl, and he said I could be one too if I made a contract with him. I figured you might need some help fighting wraiths, and so-"

"Momo, you didn't…"

"I did. And the first thing I did after that was go up to Dad and boast about it. Then, well…" Momo swallowed. "That's when he snapped. He said something about how he'd lost both his daughters to this vile witchcraft and came at me with a knife. Mom jumped in to try and protect me, but Dad overpowered her and stabbed her in the chest. Then he did the same to me. And when he saw that the stab didn't kill me, that's when he went crazy and set the house on fire. When I realized what I'd done, I gave into despair right on the spot."

"So that's what happened…" Kyoko whispered as she took in everything Momo was saying. "I'm afraid to ask, but… what did you wish for?"

Momo paused. "For Dad to leave you alone." Kyoko stared at Momo silently. "Yeah, poor choice of words, I know. So, what happened to our parents… it wasn't your fault. It was-"

Before Momo could say anything more, Kyoko grabbed her and embraced her as tight as she could. "It wasn't your fault either."

Momo returned Kyoko's embrace, a wave of relief washing over the younger Sakura sister. Thinking back on it, Momo had been blowing this whole thing out of proportion. She should've realized Kyoko wouldn't hold a grudge against her. Whatever happened in the past, the two of them were still family. "I'm sorry I didn't come back sooner." Momo said softly. "I was afraid-"

"Don't be." Kyoko interrupted her again. "I'm just glad you're here now."

Eventually the Sakura sisters let go of each other. As happy as they were to finally be reunited, their friends (and the rest of the world) still needed saving. They turned and made their way back through Ophelia's portion of the labyrinth.

---

After a bit of a struggle, Madoka managed to knock Mammon's scythe away with the haft of her bow, throwing him off-balance. He was too close for Madoka to nock another arrow and shoot him, but maybe there was something else she could do. While she was still cut off from the Law of Cycles, she still had access to some of her abilities, including her power to erase witches. That was what she'd wished for, after all. With that in mind, Madoka opened her right hand and placed it on Mammon's chest, ready to take away all his despair and purify his soul. But to her surprise, nothing happened.

"Are you trying to erase me?" Mammon scoffed. "You should've worded your wish more carefully. Humans never learn, do they?" Mammon struck Madoka with the back of his scythe, knocking her backwards. "You wished for the power to erase all witches, creatures born from the despair of fallen magical girls. But Kyubey wasn't a magical girl, so I'm not really a witch, now am I?"

"No…" Madoka whispered, realizing her powers were useless on him. "Then… What are you?"

"Oh, you humans have come up with so many labels for me. Demon, monster, deceiver, trickster, devil, abomination…" Mammon cackled. "'Fiend' was always my favorite."

"It doesn't matter what you are." Homura shouted as she drew an AK-47 from her shield. "If Madoka can't erase you, then we'll just kill you the old fashioned way!" Madoka jumped out of the way just before Homura opened fire, emptying the clip as Mammon stood there and took every shot. But the bullets simply bounced off the fiend's body, not harming him even a little.

"Human weapons?" Mammon turned and glared at Homura. "Really, Homura Akemi?"

The fiend's crimson eyes flashed for a brief second. Homura turned around to see another Mammon manifesting behind her. The duplicate conjured an identical scythe and swung it at the dark magical girl, forcing her to drop her AK-47 and dodge the attack. While Homura fought off his second body, the original Mammon set his sights back on Madoka. "Now where were we…?"

---

Once Mami and Nagisa made their way back to the entrance of Mammon's labyrinth, Mami took a moment to observe the pathways leading to her friends' witches. The last thing she remembered before waking up in Candeloro's labyrinth was Kyubey hijacking her Soul Gem, forcing her to summon Candeloro from the concrete below her. Mami had been hoping against hope that the others had somehow escaped Kyubey's attack, but seeing their labyrinths here proved they hadn't. Evidently Kyubey had used the rainwater to summon Oktavia, the smoldering embers of the Shizuki house to summon Ophelia, and the gust of wind created when his Soul Gem cracked to summon Hildegard. But at least Mami's friends were still alive, and would be rescued soon.

"Good, you two are okay." Momo said as she and Kyoko emerged from Ophelia's portion of the labyrinth. She then turned to Nagisa. "Nice job saving Mami."

"Yeah, it wasn't too hard." Nagisa boasted.

"Long time no see, Momo." Mami said to the younger Sakura sister.

"I guess it's been a while, hasn't it?" Momo replied. "But we'll have to catch up later. We still have to save Sayaka and Hitomi."

"Well you know I'm gonna save Sayaka." Kyoko declared, then put her hand on Momo's shoulder. "And I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again, so you're coming with me." She then turned to Mami and Nagisa. "Any objections?"

"No, no objections." Mami said. "We'll rendezvous back here." She and Nagisa took off down the cobblestone path leading to Hildegard's area.

With that, the Sakura sisters entered Oktavia's portion of the labyrinth. While she and Momo made their way towards the mermaid witch, Kyoko felt a faint twinge of déjà vu. The posters, the brick walls, the red carpeting, all of it seemed strangely familiar, even though Kyoko knew this had to have been her first time in here. Thanks to Madoka's wish, witches and their labyrinths weren't even supposed to exist, at least not before Kyubey started messing with the Law of Cycles. But as Kyoko understood it, that was only true for the current reality. "I've been here before, haven't I?" she asked Momo. "In one of those alternate timelines I've heard so much about?"

"Quite a few of them, actually." Momo replied. "Every time Sayaka made a contract she ended up turning into a witch. Then you came here hoping to change her back."

"Hmph, sounds like something I'd do." Kyoko said. "Did it ever work?"

Momo hesitated before answering. "No, witch transformations were irreversible. Used to be that once you made a contract, there was no hope of coming back from it. You either died fighting witches or lasted long enough to become one yourself."

"I see…" Kyoko mumbled. She stopped to take a closer look at one of the posters on the wall. The words were written in a weird alien language she couldn't read, but she did recognize the image of Kyosuke's silhouetted figure on it. Kyoko clenched her fist at the mere sight of it, her blood nearly coming to a boil. "To think Sayaka put herself through all that pain and suffering, all for that oblivious, ungrateful little-" Kyoko slammed her fist into the poster. "It just makes me sick. She deserved so much better than that."

"Hey, I totally agree." Momo said. "But if she hadn't made that contract, you never would've met her. Believe me, I've seen the timelines where she didn't."

"Yeah, but still…" Kyoko turned away from the poster. "Shame Hitomi didn't turn him into witch food. At least she gave him a nasty concussion, I'll give her that."

"Uh, actually… I did that." Momo brandished her bo staff. "He was about to attack Madoka so I bonked him on the head."

Kyoko smirked. "You're the best little sister in the world, you know that?"

Momo was about to say something, but the walls started racing away from her and Kyoko. Before they knew it, the Sakura sisters found themselves standing in the middle of a room vaguely resembling a concert hall, surrounded by shadowy familiars mindlessly playing their violins at the behest of an equally mindless conductor. Looming in front of them was Oktavia sporting a golden halo above her head. The mermaid witch drew her sword, ready to eviscerate Kyoko and Momo for disrupting her concert.

While Momo took a defensive stance, Kyoko scanned the room looking for Sayaka. She spotted her high up in the cheap seats behind Oktavia. The blue magical girl was tied to the seat and gagged by the same mystical restraints Kyoko had been. Without even thinking, Kyoko leapt towards Sayaka, hoping to vault over Oktavia and rescue her girlfriend as quickly as possible. But Kyoko realized her mistake in midair when she saw a number of train wheels manifesting in front of her. Oktavia launched them at Kyoko, but before they could hit, a Sebastian pulled Kyoko back down to the floor out of harm's way.

"Thanks, I guess…" Kyoko grumbled to her sister as she got back up.

"I know how you feel, but you can't just rush in against a witch like that." Momo said. "It's a good way to lose your head."

---

"Achoo!" Mami sneezed.

"Gesundheit." Nagisa said.

"Thanks." Mami replied as she wiped her nose. She then took a second to observe her surroundings, noting the briar vines, cavernous walls and cobblestone pathway. Her experience with witches and their labyrinths was relatively limited, since up until Homura's rebellion Mami had spent her entire magical girl career fighting wraiths. Even after that, a good chunk of her knowledge of witches came second-hand. Ironic that in the previous timelines she was supposedly an expert on the subject.

From what Mami understood, witches were supposed to be dark, twisted reflections of the magical girls they were born from. The girls' thoughts, feelings, hopes, desires and memories all seemed to factor into whatever form the witch took. She briefly wondered what it said about her that her witch was a six-inch-tall dress-up doll surrounded by caricatures of her friends dressed like maids, but now wasn't the best time to psychoanalyze herself. Rescuing Hitomi was her biggest concern right now. "So we just have to follow this path and we'll find her, right?" Mami asked.

"Yep." Nagisa replied. "But watch out for her familiars. They'll show up any minute to test our skills and see if we're worthy of slaying the witch."

"Seems like you know your stuff." Mami said. "Did you face her witch in any of those other timelines?"

"Actually, no. Kyubey never approached Hitomi before. He only contracted her in this timeline, and that was just to use her as bait to capture Madoka."

"Is that so…?" Hearing Nagisa say that irked Mami. She remembered something Homura said to Hitomi in the Nexus of Despair: that she was never meant to be a magical girl. Mami had thought Homura was saying that to belittle Hitomi, but apparently she'd meant it literally. Mami had to agree, though. Hitomi should never have been subjected to the horrors of the magical girl life. Sure, that was true for everyone Kyubey tricked into making a contract, but knowing that Hitomi would normally have been left alone hit Mami differently. She'd be sure to make Kyubey suffer for roping Hitomi into his schemes.

"Watch out!" Nagisa shouted as a Sigurd appeared behind Mami and swung its greatsword at her. Thanks to Nagisa's warning, Mami dodged just in the nick of time. She retaliated by conjuring a small cannon and blasting a hole clean through the ogreish familiar's chest. At the same time, a few Georges descended upon Nagisa, but the white-haired magical girl easily destroyed the goblin-like familiars with a barrage of bubbles from her trumpet. Several more familiars approached Mami and Nagisa, but the duo made short work of them.

Evidently that was enough to prove their worth to challenge Hildegard, because in the next room the two magical girls entered they found themselves face to face with the dragon witch. Just like the others, she sported a halo floating above her head. Mami and Nagisa quickly took in their surroundings. The sight of their "corpses" skewered on pikes was unsettling enough, but seeing Hitomi tied up and sealed in a glass casket in the middle of Hildegard's treasure horde was infinitely worse. Both magical girls drew their weapons, ready to slay the dragon witch and free their friend.

---

Homura's ballistic weapons might not have done any damage to Mammon, but maybe a torrent of fire could hurt him. The dark magical girl drew her flamethrower from her shield and blasted the fiend with it, dousing him in flames. Homura kept up the attack until half the fuel tank was used up. But when the flames dissipated, Mammon emerged completely unscathed.

Mammon scoffed at Homura. The fiend retaliated with a blast of dark energy. Homura threw the fuel tank in front of the blast and jumped backwards. The fuel tank took the attack for her and exploded. Taking advantage of the smokescreen created by the explosion, Homura lobbed a grenade at Mammon from behind it. She then shot the grenade in midair, blowing it up right in front of his face. But once again, the attack had no effect.

"Are you done yet?" Mammon asked sarcastically. At this point it was clear that none of the weapons in Homura's arsenal would hurt him. But the dark magical girl still had one technique at her disposal. Homura enveloped herself in dark energy, then transformed into Homulilly. In the form of the nutcracker witch, she launched her ethereal appendages at Mammon.

"Heh, fool." Mammon snarked. Just before Homulilly's attack could connect, the fiend simply put up his hand. Homulilly's appendages went limp as the nutcracker witch froze in place. A golden halo started to manifest above her head. With Homulilly under his control, Mammon turned his attention to Madoka, who was busy defending herself against his other body. He gave the order and sent Homulilly after Madoka.

Yet strangely, Homulilly didn't obey him. Instead she was struggling to break free of Mammon's control. "I should've known..." Mammon muttered. For her to have survived through those countless timelines, Homura's willpower had to have been truly exceptional, much stronger than that of her teammates at least. But the fiend had known for ages that every human has their breaking point. All he had to do was apply enough pressure and Homulilly would bend to his will, just like the other witches had. With that in mind, Mammon concentrated on Homulilly. The halo above her head glowed brighter as Mammon amplified his control magic.

Strange voices were sounding in Homulilly's mind, and as Mammon focused, they grew louder and louder. Bring Madoka to me! Mammon's voice echoed. Homulilly tried not to listen, but felt her will slowly giving in. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stave them off.

Then the voices went silent.

Madoka had wrestled away from Mammon's original body just long enough to shoot an arrow and strike his other body in the back of the head. Madoka's attack didn't do much damage, but it did momentarily distract Mammon from forcing his will upon Homulilly. "Homura, change back!" Madoka shouted right before dodging another swing of Mammon's scythe. Homulilly complied and transformed back into Homura before Mammon could refocus.

Homura figured that what Mammon just tried to do to her must've been what he'd done with the Quattro Elementi. Evidently Mammon had the power to control witches, which likely meant he was holding her allies somewhere in this labyrinth and using Oktavia, Ophelia, Candeloro and Hildegard for some evil purpose. Maybe he planned on making them the four horsemen of his apocalypse or something like that. But none of them were exceptionally powerful witches. Even with all four of them under his control, Mammon would only be able to spread his influence over a range of a few kilometers. That was about how far away a typical witch could plant a kiss on a victim. Homura only knew of one exception, which was-

Homura gasped, realizing what Mammon intended to do with Madoka. Homura had only seen it briefly before resetting time, but she knew how immensely powerful Madoka's witch was. Kriemhild Gretchen, the so-called Witch of Salvation, could easily spread her curse over the whole planet and consume it in a matter of days, if not hours. With Gretchen at his command, Mammon would have dominion over all human beings on Earth. Homura couldn't let that happen, no matter what.

"So you've figured out my plan, have you?" Mammon guessed. "That's just as well. There's nothing you can do to stop me." The fiend brandished his scythe and lunged towards Homura.

---

Kyoko's failed attempt to vault over Oktavia didn't go unnoticed by the mermaid witch's familiars. The conductor pointed its baton at Kyoko, commanding the other Holgers to march toward the red magical girl and her sister. At the same time, a number of Klarissas leapt off the center stage at Oktavia's command. The Sakura sisters stood back to back as the familiars surrounded them. "This won't take long." Kyoko said.

Momo nodded, then swung her staff at a Klarissa. Kyoko bisected the nearest Holger with her spear. Another one tried to club her with its violin, but Kyoko dodged the attack and swept her spear at its legs. While it lay on the ground, Kyoko impaled it through its stomach, killing it. As expected, none of the Kyosuke-resembling familiars stood a chance against her. Once the familiars in front of her had been dealt with, Kyoko rushed the conductor and decapitated it.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kyoko spotted Momo mowing down five Klarissas with a single sweep. After that fateful night, Kyoko never imagined she'd see her little sister again. But not only did Kyoko have Momo back, she was fighting alongside her, and doing a damn good job of it too. Momo certainly wasn't the helpless little kid Kyoko remembered anymore. The elder Sakura sister couldn't have been more proud.

While neither Sakura sister had any difficulty dealing with Oktavia's weak familiars, they did provide just enough distraction for Oktavia herself to mount an attack. She conjured another round of train wheels and launched them at both magical girls while they were busy picking off the remaining familiars. But before the wheels could hit, Kyoko put up a chain barrier to block them.

"Nice try." Kyoko said smugly. The mermaid witch already pulled that trick on her a year ago, but Kyoko wouldn't fall for it twice.

Momo summoned a group of Sebastians as Kyoko dropped the chain barrier. The shadowy familiars launched themselves straight at Oktavia. The mermaid witch managed to kill the first few with her sword, but the rest of them quickly overwhelmed her. Before long they had her arms and tail pinned to the wall behind her.

"Go for it!" Momo shouted to her elder sister. Kyoko mounted a Sebastian as Momo sent it hurtling towards Oktavia. Using the momentum, Kyoko pointed her spear at Oktavia, preparing to ram it straight through her chest. The mermaid witch struggled to break free of the Sebastians, but even all her strength couldn't break the familiars' grip. She was powerless to prevent Kyoko from dealing the fatal blow, piercing Oktavia's heart clean through.

Ignoring Oktavia's death throes, Kyoko jumped into the seating area and ran straight for Sayaka. Kyoko cut through Sayaka's restraints with her spear. "You okay, Sayaka?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Sayaka replied as she stood up. She then smiled at Kyoko. "No matter the timeline, you always come here to save me, don't you?"

Kyoko smiled back. "You know I'd do anything for you."

"Yeah, I know." Sayaka was about to reward Kyoko with a kiss, but the red magical girl stopped her.

"Um, maybe not in front of…" Kyoko jerked her head towards Momo, who had just ridden a Sebastian up to the cheap seats to join them.

"Oh, don't mind me." Momo said. At that, Sayaka and Kyoko embraced each other and shared a kiss. Momo simply smirked at them. "You two finally got together, then?"

"Yep." Sayaka paused for a moment. "So… I take it you guys got to talking?"

"Yeah, I know what happened." Kyoko answered. "And I don't blame her for it."

"See, I told you she'd forgive you." Sayaka said to Momo.

Momo sighed. "Okay, okay, I guess I was overthinking it."

"Honestly, why would you think I'd blame you for that?" Kyoko asked semi-rhetorically. She then looked away as a scowl appeared on her face. "It was Kyubey's fault." Kyoko added, clenching her fist. "It's always been Kyubey. He's been tricking girls into making contracts for God-knows how long. We were just more of his victims." A confident smirk crept onto Kyoko's face as she turned back to face Sayaka and Momo. "So what do you say we get our revenge and wipe him off the face of the planet?!"

Sayaka and Momo nodded in unison. With that, the three girls left Oktavia's concert hall and made their way back to the rendezvous point.

---

Mami considered making a beeline for Hitomi, but that wouldn't be possible with Hildegard in the way. After all, what dragon wasn't violently protective of its treasure horde? Mami and Nagisa would have to get rid of her first.

Why a dragon? Mami wondered. She also noted the surrounding area, particularly the caricatures of her and the other magical girls' bodies displayed on pikes. Perhaps it meant Hitomi thought of herself as a monster who somehow caused the deaths of all her friends. Mami's brow furrowed. Whatever half-truths or outright lies Kyubey fed Hitomi to make her believe that, Mami vowed to make him pay for it, ideally with his very life.

Hildegard made to blast Mami and Nagisa with her noxious breath, but Mami saw it coming. Thanks to fighting alongside the dragon witch less than an hour ago, Mami knew everything Hildegard was capable of. The yellow magical girl conjured a web of ribbons around Hildegard's snout and tightened it before the dragon witch could exhale any poison. "None of that." Mami quipped.

Naturally, Hildegard didn't take kindly to being muzzled. If she couldn't poison Mami, she could always rip her apart with her claws instead. Hildegard took to the air and flew straight for the yellow magical girl. Mami gestured to the ground below to summon her witch from the cobblestones. But to her surprise, Candeloro didn't appear. Just before Hildegard's claw hit her, Mami realized that since the floor wasn't real earth, she couldn't summon Candeloro with it. Hildegard's attack flung Mami into a pile of gold and gemstones.

Fortunately for Mami, Nagisa blasted Hildegard with a barrage of bubbles before she could land another attack. As Hildegard shifted focus and charged at Nagisa, the magical girl transformed into Charlotte. Taking on the dessert witch's serpentine form, she flew towards Hildegard and bit the dragon witch on the neck. Hildegard wailed in pain (as best she could through the muzzle at least) and counter-attacked with her claws. Charlotte and Hildegard wrestled each other in midair until Hildegard came out on top, pinning Charlotte to the ground.

With Charlotte at her mercy, Hildegard raised her claw and prepared to deliver a fatal slash. But before the blow could connect, Mami recovered and shot Hildegard in the forearm. The dragon witch glared at Mami, who had her rifle aimed squarely at Hildegard's head. Mami fired, but Hildegard dodged and whipped her tail at Mami, knocking her into the wall.

With both of her opponents temporarily incapacitated, Hildegard tore off the ribbon muzzle. With a bellowing roar, she flew straight at Mami, who had just gotten up from the blow from Hildegard's tail. The yellow magical girl conjured a rifle and took aim, but Hildegard blasted her with her toxic breath before Mami could fire. Mami dropped her gun and went into a coughing fit after inhaling the noxious fumes. As the poison took effect, Hildegard descended, unhinged her jaw and bit down on Mami's head.

Only to discover it was a body double.

The fake head in Hildegard's mouth burst into a mass of ribbons that wound themselves around the dragon witch's snout, re-muzzling her. At the same time, more ribbons shot out of the dummy's neck, ensnaring Hildegard's legs and wings. Unable to fly, she plummeted to the ground.

The real Mami popped out from behind the mound of treasure Hildegard had knocked her into, carrying a large rifle. While Hildegard struggled in vain against the ribbons, Mami simply walked up and put her gun against the dragon witch's head. "Tiro finale." Mami said softly as she pulled the trigger and executed Hildegard.

"Nice fake-out." Nagisa said to Mami as she transformed back into her magical girl form. Mami smirked in response, then jumped up next to the glass casket holding Hitomi. Mami shattered the glass using the butt of her rifle. She then used one of the shards to cut through Hitomi's restraints.

"Mami…" Hitomi said softly as she got out of the broken casket. "I had a feeling you'd be the one to save me."

Mami smiled. "Don't worry, I'd never leave you behind."

Hitomi smiled back. The whole time she'd been dating Kyosuke, she couldn't recall him saying anything close to that to her. And she highly doubted he'd be willing to literally slay a dragon for her like Mami just did. Granted, he didn't have magical powers, but still…

"Hey, how much cheese do you think I could get for this?" Mami and Hitomi turned to see Nagisa holding a handful of gold coins and jewels she'd picked up off the ground.

"That's not real treasure, you know." Hitomi said, a twinge of disappointment and annoyance in her voice.

Mami sighed. "I guess we should go meet the others." With that, the three girls made their way back to the rendezvous point.

"Good, that's everyone." Sayaka said as she and the Sakura sisters met up with Mami's group. The blue magical girl took a look down the last remaining pathway, where they'd likely find Madoka and Homura. "Well, almost everyone." Not wasting another second, the six magical girls made a run for it.

---

Homura managed to block one swing of Mammon's scythe with her shield. But on the next swing she wasn't so lucky. Mammon struck Homura on the head with the blunt side of his scythe, throwing her off-balance. He followed up with a sweeping slash at her legs. The blow knocked Homura onto her back. Before she could recover, Mammon stabbed her in the side with the bottom end of his scythe. Homura screamed in agony.

As she looked up at Mammon, the hopelessness of the situation hit Homura all at once. Her shield was broken, her guns and bombs couldn't hurt him, she couldn't transform into Homulilly without being mind-controlled, and her demonic powers were still sealed away by the Quattro Elementi, who were still nowhere to be seen. There was no way for her to defend herself from Mammon, let alone protect Madoka from him.

"Now what should I do with you, Homura Akemi?" Mammon pondered as he kept Homura pinned down. "That witch of yours could be useful, but I won't need it once I have her." Mammon tilted his head towards Madoka, who was still fighting with his other body.

"Bastard…" Homura seethed. Mammon didn't respond.

"Or I suppose I could force you to watch as I use your precious friend to harvest every human soul on this planet. I can't deny I'd take great pleasure in seeing you suffer like that." Mammon focused on Homura's Soul Gem on her left hand. "But if probing her memories has taught me anything, it's that as long as you're still alive you'll pose a threat to my plans. So I'll play it safe and put an end to your pathetic life right here and now." Mammon ripped his scythe out of Homura's side, leaving a bloody, grievous wound. He then raised his weapon and prepared to destroy the dark magical girl's Soul Gem. "Farewell, Homura Akemi."

Homura looked on helplessly at Madoka, who hadn't been faring any better against Mammon's other body. The fiend had sliced her bow in half and knocked her to the floor as well. It was only a matter of time before Madoka fell under Mammon's control. Homura had come this far, defeated countless witches, even overcome time and space themselves, only to fail Madoka at the very end. I'm sorry, Madoka… Homura shut her eyes, accepting her fate as Mammon swung his scythe. I'm so sorry.

But the fatal blow didn't land. Homura opened her eyes to see Mammon's scythe ensnared by Mami's yellow ribbons. Then a barrage of bubbles from Nagisa's trumpet exploded in front of Mammon's face, disorienting him just long enough for Hitomi to rush in and carry Homura away from danger.

At the same time, Kyoko conjured a chain barrier right in front of Madoka, blocking a swing from Mammon's scythe. Momo sent in a number of Sebastians to distract Mammon while Sayaka rushed in and pulled Madoka to safety. "You alright, Madoka?" Sayaka asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for coming to save us." Madoka then noticed Hitomi setting Homura down and rushed over to them. Overcome with relief, Madoka threw her arms around Homura, but quickly let go when Homura winced in pain. "Oh, sorry." Madoka said, grimacing at the gash on Homura's side.

"It's okay. I can still-" Homura attempted to take a step forward, but collapsed to her knees in pain.

"Easy there. I'd better take care of this." Sayaka knelt down beside Homura and began healing her wounds.

Trusting Sayaka's abilities, Madoka conjured another bow and turned back to face Mammon's two bodies, who were still slashing away the ribbons and chain barrier. Mami, Kyoko, Hitomi, Nagisa and Momo stood beside Madoka in solidarity. So that's Kyubey? Hitomi asked Madoka telepathically.

No, he's called Mammon now. Madoka replied.

Which one's the real one? Mami asked.

Both of them are. Madoka answered. They each share a single consciousness. If we destroy them both that'll be the end of it. But don't use your witches. He'll take control of them if you do.

Hmph, like we need them. Kyoko scoffed. This grim reaper wannabe is nothing the Holy Octet can't handle! The other magical girls stared at her silently for a couple seconds. Well, if five of us were the Holy Quintet, then…

The magical girls noticed Mammon had just destroyed the chain barrier, and his other body had cut away the ribbons entangling his scythe. Both bodies turned their attention to the Holy Octet. At the same time, Sayaka finished healing Homura's wounds. Both of them got back up and stood alongside their allies. Seven of the eight magical girls readied their weapons. Since Homura's shield was still broken, Madoka conjured a second bow and handed it off to Homura. In the dark magical girl's hands, the bow turned black and metallic, adorned with two purple diamonds resembling her Soul Gem. If Homura couldn't hurt Mammon with her non-magical weapons, maybe this bow would do the trick.

"We have you outmatched, Mammon." Madoka declared. "It's over."

"Is it? Or have you just made me even more powerful?!" Both Mammons' eyes flashed crimson, and six more bodies manifested beside them. All eight bodies charged at the Holy Octet.

Madoka, Homura, Mami and Nagisa opened fire. Their arrows, bullets and bubbles struck four of Mammon's bodies, but didn't do much more than slow them down. The four bodies that evaded the barrage of projectiles quickly closed in on the Holy Octet. They went straight for Madoka, but Sayaka, Kyoko, Hitomi and Momo got in their way.

Sayaka took point. The closest body tried to impale her through the belly with the bottom end of its scythe. Aiming right for my Soul Gem, are you? Sayaka parried the predictable attack. With Mammon thrown off-balance, Sayaka swung her sword at Mammon's neck. Her attack connected, but rather than decapitating the fiend, Sayaka's blade shattered, leaving only a superficial cut.

"It'll take more than that to kill me, Sayaka Miki." Mammon slashed her across the belly, fortunately missing Sayaka's Soul Gem by a hair. The attack flung her backwards. As Sayaka healed her wound, she glimpsed Hitomi out of the corner of her eye. The green magical girl punched another body right in the face, but all she did was get her hand hurt. Mammon counterattacked with his scythe, sending Hitomi flying into Sayaka. Both magical girls were knocked to the floor in a heap.

"You couldn't hurt him either, huh?" Sayaka asked.

"It was like punching a concrete wall." Hitomi replied. She then sensed Mammon closing in on her and Sayaka. Both girls recovered and dodged a swing of his scythe just in time.

Momo jumped towards one of Mammon's bodies and brought her staff down on his head. Mammon blocked with his scythe and knocked Momo out of the air. Momo quickly got back up. "Rosso Phantasma!" she shouted, and Mammon was surrounded by illusory copies of Momo.

"You think that'll work?" Mammon instantly found the real Momo. The fiend slashed her across the torso, bringing her to the ground once again. Before Momo could recover, Mammon pinned her underfoot. He stared intently at her Soul Gem. "Even in physical form, I can still sense your human souls. They call to me like a beacon."

"You bastard!" Kyoko shouted. She tried to conjure a chain barrier to protect her sister, but another body struck her before she could, thwarting her attempt.

"Momo Sakura…" Mammon held his scythe to Momo's throat. "You were such a worthless magical girl. I don't know why I even bothered contracting you." Mammon's free hand began sparking with dark energy. He aimed it at Momo's Soul Gem. "But now you'll be of use to me."

Tendrils of darkness shot out of Mammon's hand. The attack struck Momo's Soul Gem, draining its crimson light. Momo wailed in pain as Mammon corrupted her Soul Gem. After mere seconds, it turned completely black, and Momo was forcibly transformed into Elsa Maria. A golden halo appeared above the shadow witch's head.

Upon seeing what Mammon did to Momo, Kyoko flew into a rage. She charged at the body that took control of her sister, flailing her spear recklessly. Kyoko struck the scythe out of Mammon's hand and slashed his defenseless body repeatedly. But despite throwing everything she had into her attacks, they barely even scratched him. Before long Kyoko started to tire out, which gave Mammon a chance to break Kyoko's spear and grab her by the throat.

"Is that the best you could do?" Mammon threw Kyoko to the ground. He then turned to Elsa Maria. "Kill your sister."

At Mammon's command, Elsa Maria summoned her familiars. The Sebastians launched themselves at Kyoko, tearing into her flesh one after another. But before they could finish the red magical girl off, Hitomi jumped in front of Kyoko, punching and kicking the familiars away. The distraction allowed Sayaka to pick Kyoko up off the ground. "Thanks, Hitomi." Sayaka said as she carried Kyoko to safety.

"Wait… Momo…" Kyoko wheezed.

"Don't worry, we'll save her." Sayaka assured her, albeit with little conviction. As much as she wanted to help Momo, all she could do right now was retreat to a safe distance where she could treat Kyoko's wounds.

Madoka gasped when she saw what happened to Momo. The pink magical girl had been too preoccupied fighting off Mammon's other bodies to protect Momo, but maybe she could still help. With her powers, she might be able to turn Elsa Maria back into Momo, but she'd need to get close enough to the shadow witch for that to work.

With Madoka distracted, four of Mammon's bodies tried to land an attack. But Mami put up a ribbon barrier just in time, ensnaring their scythes with her ribbons. "Go help Momo." Mami shouted to Madoka.

"We'll hold these guys off." Nagisa added as she joined up with Mami.

"Okay." Madoka turned her attention back to Elsa Maria, who was still bombarding Hitomi with her familiars. Madoka launched several arrows at the Sebastians, which gave Hitomi a chance to jump out of the line of fire. The shadow witch then turned her attention to Madoka and sent her familiars after her instead.

Homura caught sight of what was going on. As much as she despised seeing Madoka risk her life for others, there was nothing Homura could do to stop her. All she could do was give Madoka cover while she tried to save Momo. Homura dodged an attack from the body she was fighting, then ran to Madoka's side just in time to shoot away a Sebastian that was about to strike her. "Thanks, Homura." Madoka said. Homura simply nodded, and the two of them hurried towards Elsa Maria together.

As Mami suspected, her ribbons didn't hold Mammon off for very long. The four bodies she and Nagisa were up against tore through them with little effort. Mami shot one of them in the head point-blank, but all it did was flinch a little. Nagisa's trumpet blasts weren't any more effective. One body closed in on Nagisa and knocked the trumpet out of her hand, then pushed her to the floor and pinned her down. Then dark energy sparked from his hand.

"No!" Mami tried to shoot Mammon before he could corrupt Nagisa, but the other three bodies blocked her attack and knocked the gun out of her hands. All she could do was watch helplessly as Nagisa's Soul Gem was corrupted by Mammon's attack, forcing her to transform into Charlotte. Mammon put up his hand, and a halo appeared above the dessert witch's head.

"Kill her." Mammon ordered Charlotte as his four bodies ran off, leaving Mami to meet her fate at the hands of her surrogate little sister. The mind-controlled dessert witch shed her doll-like exterior to reveal her serpentine form. She descended upon Mami, ready to swallow her whole, only for Hitomi to jump up and kick her in the face, saving Mami in the nick of time.

"Are you alright, Mami?"

"I am, but-" Mami looked on at Charlotte as the dessert witch recovered from Hitomi's attack. Charlotte bellowed, summoning several Pyotrs and Polinas. As the familiars advanced on Mami and Hitomi, the two of them realized there was nothing they could do to help Nagisa at the moment. All they could do was retreat and join up with Kyoko and Sayaka, and hopefully think up a battle plan.

Madoka winced, but once she saved Momo, she promised herself she'd save Nagisa too. She and Homura continued advancing towards Elsa Maria, but before they could reach her, four of Mammon's bodies blocked their way. Madoka and Homura looked behind to see Mammon's other four bodies closing in on them, backed up by Charlotte and her familiars. The two magical girls were surrounded and hopelessly outmatched. Unable to fight back, Madoka and Homura had no choice but to make a run for it and join up with the Quattro Elementi.

Madoka turned to Homura. "Don't worry, we'll-" Mammon struck Madoka from behind. The blade of his scythe pierced her straight through the chest. As Mammon removed the scythe, Madoka fell to her knees, bleeding heavily from her wound.

"Madoka!" Homura aimed her bow at the body that stabbed Madoka, hoping to get him away from Madoka. But at another body's command, Charlotte slammed into Homura and sent her flying. She landed right next to the Quattro Elementi, who had rejoined the fight just a moment too late to protect Madoka.

With all five of Madoka's remaining allies gathered in one place, Mammon ordered Charlotte and Elsa Maria's familiars to attack. Mami and Kyoko had no choice but to put up a chain-ribbon barrier as a small army of Sebastians, Pyotrs and Polinas surrounded. While they could probably fight their way through some of the familiars, as long as Charlotte and Elsa Maria were around they'd just summon more of them. Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka, Hitomi and Homura were boxed in, unable to get to Madoka and save her.

"Did you humans really think you could defeat me?!" Mammon bellowed. "Everything you hairless apes have is because of the contracts I made with your ancestors. I cultivated your species, guided your evolution, shaped your civilization into what it is today, all for my own ends. The only reason you even exist is for me to harvest your souls. This planet and all its resources belong to me!" All eight of Mammon's bodies gathered around Madoka. "And now it's time to reap what I've sown."

Each of Mammon's bodies shot dark tendrils directly at her Soul Gem. Madoka screamed in pain as her Soul Gem was slowly blackened by Mammon's attack. Madoka resisted Mammon as best she could, but even the goddess had her limits. She couldn't fight him off forever. Sooner or later, she'd give in and be forcibly transformed into Kriemhild Gretchen. Then Mammon would use her to harvest the souls of all humans on Earth.

"Madoka…" Tears began welling up in Homura's eyes. She'd long since given up counting how many times she'd been forced to watch helplessly as Madoka lost her life to Kyubey's machinations. At least back then she could always reset the timeline and try again, but that was no longer an option. There was nothing she or her allies could do to stop Mammon. It was all over.

Homura wasn't the only one suffering. Kyoko was also fighting back tears as she stared hopelessly at Elsa Maria. "I just got her back, dammit!" she seethed through gritted teeth. Sayaka tried to console Kyoko, but it didn't seem to be working. And Hitomi could do nothing but stand by, unable to think of any way to help her friends.

Mami's mind was racing as she stared at Charlotte. As concerned as she was for Nagisa, she also knew they needed a plan. None of their weapons could even scratch Mammon, so that was out. And without any earth, fire, wind or water around, summoning their witches wasn't an option either. Even if they could be summoned, Mammon would just take control of them anyway.

Mami could think of only one way out of this predicament. It was extremely risky, possibly even suicidal, but the Holy Octet were beyond desperate at this point. Reluctantly, the yellow magical girl turned to Homura. "Get out your Soul Gem." she said as she removed her own Soul Gem from her hair. "We're giving you your power back."

The others were taken aback, including Homura herself. But they knew Mami was right. There was no other way to defeat Mammon. Homura took her Soul Gem from her left hand. Mami held hers up to Homura's.

"Make sure he suffers." Kyoko grabbed the Soul Gem off her chest and held it up to Homura's as well.

"I guess we have no choice…" Hitomi grabbed her Soul Gem off her forehead and joined it with the others'.

Sayaka reached for her Soul Gem, but hesitated just before grabbing it. Needless to say, she still didn't completely trust Homura. There was no telling what she might do once she was off the leash the four of them had placed on her. Homura could very well rewrite the universe and imprison Madoka again. There'd be nothing stopping her. If Homura did that, what would happen to the Quattro Elementi? And would she even care enough not to just destroy Momo and Nagisa?

"Dammit, Sayaka, what are you waiting for?!" Kyoko shouted. Sayaka saw Mami and Hitomi staring at her as well, their expressions reflecting Kyoko's sentiment. As much as Sayaka distrusted Homura, even she couldn't argue that Mammon had to be dealt with, and there was no time left to be indecisive.

Sayaka took a deep breath and grabbed her Soul Gem from her belly. "Don't make me regret this." she said as she held her Soul Gem up to Homura's.

Homura's Soul Gem took its power back from those of the Quattro Elementi, gradually transforming back into a Dark Orb as it did. Homura's magical girl costume ripped apart as she regained her demon form. At the same time, Mami, Kyoko, Sayaka and Hitomi all collapsed. "What the hell?" Kyoko barely managed to wheeze out.

"We were on borrowed time." Mami mumbled just before she lost consciousness, realizing the power the four of them had taken from Homura was also the only thing fueling their Soul Gems since they'd returned from the Nexus of Despair. The power they'd been wielding was rightfully Homura's, after all. Not only could they not fight without it, they were just barely clinging to life. Everything was truly on Homura now.

With Mami and Kyoko no longer able to sustain it, the chain-ribbon barrier disappeared. Not paying the Quattro Elementi a second thought, Homura conjured a wave of hellish purple flames that incinerated the familiars surrounding her. She then fired an arrow of dark energy straight at one of Mammon's bodies. The arrow struck his side, knocking him several meters back and grievously injuring him. Mammon's other seven bodies let Madoka go and turned their attention to Homura. Madoka had passed out from the pain and fallen limp to the ground, but still had some light left in her Soul Gem. Mammon hadn't fully corrupted her just yet.

"Well, looks like you-" Homura didn't let Mammon finish. She shot another arrow at the body speaking to her, this time striking him square in the face. His head burst into dark purple flames that quickly spread down to his torso and limbs. In mere moments, the body had completely disintegrated.

The six bodies surrounding Madoka stared at Homura in disbelief for a fleeting moment. One of them rushed towards Homura while the other five turned their attention back on Madoka as she lay unconscious on the floor. Homura took notice and conjured fifteen pillars of darkness between Madoka and Mammon's bodies. The pillars coalesced into the Clara Dolls. At Homura's command, Love picked up Madoka and carried her to safety while the other fourteen held Mammon off. With her familiars protecting Madoka, Homura could focus on destroying the fiend.

As the body rushing Homura closed in on her, Homura made a slashing motion with her left hand, launching a crescent wave of hellfire that bisected Mammon. Both halves of his body fell to the floor and disintegrated. She then shifted focus to the body she'd attacked first, still lying on the floor. Homura shot another arrow at it to finish it off. The attack struck true, but in that body's death throes, it issued a command to Elsa Maria and Charlotte.

Out of the corner of her eye, Homura spotted a pair of Sebastians hurtling towards her. Homura simply flicked her wrist and destroyed both familiars with another hellfire blast. As for Elsa Maria herself, Homura performed an arcane gesture with her left hand. A circular symbol resembling Homura's shield appeared beneath Elsa Maria. The symbol flashed bright violet, and Elsa Maria was frozen in time. Homura turned to see Charlotte's serpentine form aiming to bite down on her, but the dessert witch suffered the same fate when Homura cast the same spell on her.

Shifting her focus back to Mammon, Homura noticed three of his bodies hacking and slashing their way through the Clara Dolls. He'd already taken out Blockhead, Pride, Laziness, Slander and Inferiority, and the rest of the dolls weren't faring much better. Powerful as her familiars were, they couldn't protect Madoka forever, not against Mammon. But that wouldn't be a problem for much longer. Homura waved her hand, and tendrils of dark energy shot out from the ground and ensnared the three bodies fighting the Clara Dolls. With a mere flick of Homura's wrist, all of them were ripped apart.

In an apparent last-ditch effort, one of Mammon's two remaining bodies put up its hand. A golden halo appeared above Homura's head as Mammon attempted to control her mind. Homura's demon form might've been close enough to a witch that she could be controlled by Mammon's power, at least that was what the fiend was apparently thinking. For a split second it seemed to work, but Homura broke through Mammon's control with minimal effort. If he couldn't take control of Homulilly, what chance did he have against Homura at her full power? The demon retaliated with another blast of hellfire, incinerating the body that tried to brainwash her.

As Homura stared down Mammon's last remaining body, she noticed the scythe trembling in his hands. Lately Kyubey had been showing a number of different emotions, but now he was experiencing perhaps the basest one of them all. Fear. He was afraid of the imminent end of his millenia-long life. A lesser person might have shown mercy and let him surrender, but Homura knew better than that. As long as Kyubey existed in any way, shape or form, he'd stop at nothing to bend Madoka to his will. The only surefire way to protect her from the Incubators was to end them once and for all.

With that in mind, Homura readied an arrow. She recalled every time Kyubey took Madoka away from her, channeling all her grief and rage into her weapon. Mammon tried to make a run for it, but Homura wouldn't let him escape. She loosed the arrow, and Mammon was struck through the chest. Hellish purple flames slowly spread from the wound as the fiend dropped his scythe and fell to his knees, unable to move as his body gave out on him.

Homura briefly considered finishing him off with another shot, but decided that would be too merciful of her. Instead, she merely stood there as the dark flames slowly engulfed his body. Homura wanted to savor every second of her nemesis' demise. He deserved nothing less after everything he'd put Madoka through. Homura floated closer, hoping to indulge in Mammon's agony and terror in his final moments.

But strangely, Mammon wasn't displaying any terror at all. In fact, he was calm, almost as if he'd accepted his inevitable end. "Seems I couldn't defy fate after all." the fiend mumbled. He then looked up to face Homura. "Well, Homura Akemi, you did it. It took you God-knows how many timelines, but you did it. You've won the battle for Madoka Kaname's soul." A faint cackle escaped Mammon's breath. "But… somewhere in the back of your mind… you must've remembered why I was after her in the first place."

Homura said nothing. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"That's right, Homura." Mammon pointed his finger at the self-proclaimed demon. "Madoka Kaname is all yours, but the universe is doomed to entropy. All because of YOU!" Mammon's body disintegrated into nothingness, his psychotic laugh echoing throughout the labyrinth as it faded away with him. The white void of his labyrinth was slowly replaced by the ruins of Mitakihara City.

With Mammon gone, there was no longer anything tethering Madoka to the physical world. As she regained consciousness, her eyes turned gold, her angelic wings sprouted from her back, and her magical girl costume transformed into the immaculate white dress of her goddess form. Before long she began her ascent back to the Law of Cycles.

Freed from Mammon's control, Charlotte and Elsa Maria turned back into Nagisa and Momo. Then their Soul Gems shattered, as did Sayaka's. Having fulfilled their mission on Earth, it was time for the three of them to return with Madoka. And without Homura's power to sustain them in the physical world, Kyoko, Mami and Hitomi's Soul Gems gave out as well. They too were spirited away by Madoka's power. The seven of them found themselves in the starry expanse between Earth and the Law of Cycles.

But before any of them could cross over, Homura appeared out of nowhere. The demon grabbed Madoka's wrist, stopping the goddess from disappearing. "Homura…" Madoka whispered. Sayaka reached for her sword, but Kyoko gestured for her to stay back. There was nothing she or any of the other magical girls could do to stop Homura. None of them were anywhere near strong enough to beat her.

Homura couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity than this. All she had to do now was pull Madoka back to Earth and rewrite the universe again. And this time, Kyubey wouldn't be around to undermine her efforts. As for the other magical girls, Homura could simply let them move on to the Law of Cycles so they couldn't mess up her plans either. Or if they did get roped in with Madoka, Homura could just imprison them in the Nexus of Despair and erase all memory of their existence from her new universe. It would just be her and Madoka, with no one else to threaten the goddess' happiness.

And yet, despite this perfect opportunity, Homura found herself unable to go through with it. Maybe because she knew it would just be a fantasy, maybe because she expected her plan would backfire somehow just like it did before. Or maybe it was because she didn't deserve to be with Madoka, not after everything she'd done since her rebellion. Whatever the reason, Homura's grip on Madoka began to weaken. "Madoka, I'm sorry for everything." With that, Homura let go.

"Wait!" This time, Madoka took hold of Homura's wrist. All the demon could do was stare back at her in utter confusion. "Homura, I understand why you did what you did, and I don't blame you for it. Having to leave everyone behind really did break my heart. Seeing my friends, my family, everyone I knew forget all about me… it was unbearable." Madoka looked away. "But the worst part was having to watch you suffer all alone. As if that wasn't bad enough, I could see you starting to doubt your own memories of me. I wanted to tell you I was there so badly, but there was nothing I could do. At least not until you died." Madoka sniffled. "How morbid is that?"

"Madoka…" Homura whispered, realizing she'd been right the whole time. Acting as the Law of Cycles really was painful for Madoka. Even if it didn't turn her into a witch, Madoka's wish still ended with her suffering. It was a fate no magical girl could escape from, not even the most powerful one of all.

"Believe me, if I could, I'd go back to Earth and spend the rest of my life with you. It's what I want more than anything." Madoka let out a heavy sigh. "But as horrible as it is, it's still my duty to save magical girls from becoming witches. That's the fate I accepted when I made my contract. And that's why I have to return to the Law of Cycles. I hope you can forgive me someday."

Homura winced. As painful as it was to see Madoka go yet again, she understood this was how it had to be. Homura turned away, preparing to be sent back to Earth once more. Knowing there was every chance she'd eventually go mad and rebel against Madoka once again, she planned to imprison herself in the Nexus of Despair, this time taking precautions to ensure she'd never escape. It was the only way.

But before Madoka could let go of Homura, Kyoko spoke up. "Hey, if Kyubey's gone, doesn't that mean there won't be any more magical girls?"

Madoka paused, still holding on to Homura. "I suppose not…"

"And there shouldn't be any more on Earth right now, either. We were the only ones left after Homura rewrote the universe." Mami added, gesturing to herself and Kyoko. She then turned to Hitomi. "And I'm pretty sure you were the only new one."

"Yeah, I was." Hitomi replied. "I asked him repeatedly to recruit more magical girls to get me some help, but he kept saying he only needed one."

"That's right…" Madoka said. Homura sensed a twinge of joyous realization in Madoka's voice. She could feel her own hopes rising as well, though after everything she'd been through, it was hard to trust any positive feelings like that.

Since everyone else seemed to be tiptoeing around it, Nagisa decided to just say what everyone was thinking. "If that's true, then we won't need the Law of Cycles anymore. You can go back with Homura."

"I could, couldn't I?" A smile slowly crept onto Madoka's face. But before she said anything else to Homura, she glanced in Sayaka's direction, almost out of force of habit. Homura did as well, and before long the blue magical girl felt all eyes on her.

Sayaka understood what those looks meant. The others were expecting her to object or say something else to rain on their parade. She sighed, realizing just how much of a wet blanket she'd been this whole time. But as much as she deserved the stare-down she was getting, even she couldn't object to what the others were saying. "Ah, go back and live your life." Sayaka told Madoka. "You've earned it."

With everyone else on board, that smile finally found its way onto Madoka's face. "Alright then. Homura, I want you to take me back to Earth."

Tears of joy began welling up in Homura's eyes. "Madoka… do you really mean it?"

"Yes, with all my heart." Madoka put up her finger. "But I do have a few conditions. First, you can't call yourself a demon, a devil or anything like that ever again. You're not evil, and I don't want you thinking you are anymore."

Homura didn't quite agree with that sentiment, but nodded anyway.

"Second, please don't erase my memories this time. I want to remember so I can appreciate everything you've done for me."

Once again, Homura reluctantly nodded.

"And third, if they want to, you have to let our friends come back with us." Madoka gestured to the rest of the Holy Octet. "And you can't tamper with their memories either."

Homura sighed. "Alright." Homura turned her attention to the others. "Do any of you wish to return?"

Nagisa was the first to respond. "Well I'm definitely going back. There's still so many different cheeses I haven't tried yet."

"Sheesh, what kind of heaven doesn't have cheese?" Kyoko asked.

"No food of any kind." Momo bemoaned.

"What?!" Kyoko shouted. "If that's what I have to look forward to, then I'm going back and gorging myself every day till I die."

Sayaka rolled her eyes. "Well, someone's gotta make sure you don't overdo it. I'd better go back with you."

"Believe me, you're gonna need backup." Momo said. "I'm staying too."

"Gee, thanks." Kyoko mumbled sarcastically.

"I'd better go back too." Mami looked towards Nagisa. "I still owe you that wheel of Jarlsberg."

"I guess it's unanimous then." Hitomi said. "I'm going back as well."

With that, the Holy Octet all joined hands. Homura and Madoka combined their godly powers and rewrote the universe once again.

---

Madoka was the first to reappear in the ruins of Mitakihara city, followed shortly by Homura. Both of them appeared in their magical girl costumes. Homura would've preferred for Madoka to be fully human again, but even she couldn't make that happen. All she could've done was suppress Madoka's memories of making a contract, and that would've violated Madoka's conditions for returning. It seemed she'd be a magical girl for the rest of her life. But judging by the smile Madoka wore, she didn't seem to have a problem with that.

Seconds later, the rest of the Holy Octet reappeared back on Earth as well. Mami grabbed her Soul Gem out of her hair and inspected it. It was glowing brighter than she'd ever seen it glow before. Looking around, so were everyone else's. "Goddess-powered Soul Gems, I see."

"Yep, those should last at least a few decades." Madoka said.

Sayaka looked in the direction of the evacuation center. "I guess we should go see how everyone's doing." Everyone else agreed and started making their way towards the evacuation center, but stopped when Kyoko stepped on something squishy. She looked down to see Kyubey's lifeless body lying there next to Mammon's Grief Seed, which was just as plain and featureless as Kyubey's Soul Gem had been.

"So he's really dead, huh?" Kyoko asked as she poked Kyubey's corpse with her spear.

"Yep, and good riddance." Momo answered.

"So that Mammon thing Homura destroyed… What was it?" Hitomi asked. "Was it Kyubey's witch? His true form?"

"No, not exactly…" Madoka said. She explained how millenia ago, when human civilization was in its infancy, an alien species came across Earth. They'd discovered how the emotional energy of humans could be used to combat entropy. Kyubey was the member of that species tasked with harvesting human souls as per the contract he'd made with his superiors. He gave up his body and placed his soul in a Soul Gem, which was then sent to Earth and hidden from humans so he could carry out his orders. Creating and maintaining Incubator bodies, cloaking them from normal humans, making contracts with magical girls, telepathic communication, all of it was fueled by the power of Kyubey's Soul Gem.

Because his species didn't experience hope and despair the way humans did, and because he had access to all the Grief Seeds (or Cubes) he could ever need, his Soul Gem could have lasted indefinitely, at least in theory. But between what Homura put him through with the wraiths, his repeated failure to gain control of the Law of Cycles, and millenia of dealing with the unpredictability of human emotions, Kyubey's sanity had slowly grated away. He began experiencing emotions of his own, which for his species was a form of madness. In one last desperate attempt to capture Madoka, he gave in to that madness and became the fiend known as Mammon. And when Homura struck Mammon down, Kyubey's soul ceased to exist, bringing an end to all Incubators on Earth.

Mami bent down and picked up Mammon's Grief Seed. "But what do we do with this?"

Without saying anything, Homura snatched the Grief Seed out of Mami's hand. Homura then waved her hand and opened up a portal to the Nexus of Despair. She threw the Grief Seed into her own personal Hell and closed the portal behind it.

"Yeah, I'd say that's where it belongs." Kyoko quipped.

With that, the Holy Octet continued venturing back to the evacuation center. Halfway there, they ran into the citizens of Mitakihara City. Evidently they'd broken through the barricade Nagisa and Momo had set up, but it did last long enough to prevent them from being pulled into Mammon's labyrinth. The two young magical girls breathed a sigh of relief knowing Homura had defeated Mammon just in time.

Just as they did last time, the citizens of Mitakihara greeted the magical girls with thunderous applause. Sayaka was the first to find her parents in the crowd. She and the Sakura sisters went up to them. While Mr. and Mrs. Miki were relieved to see them okay, they did give Sayaka and Kyoko an earful for slinking off without saying anything earlier. Hitomi got it even worse from her parents when she told them their house had been blown up. Mr. Momoe and Ms. Saotome were much more forgiving, though. When Nagisa and Mami returned to them, all they could do was embrace the two girls warmly.

Madoka then caught sight of her parents and her brother. The pink magical girl took a deep breath and approached them, trying to suppress the tears of joy welling up in her eyes. "Mom, Dad, Tatsuya… I'm back."

Nothing else needed to be said. Junko and Tomohisa simply embraced their long-lost daughter, elated beyond words to finally see her again. Madoka felt Tatsuya hugging her leg, apparently just as happy to see her.

After what felt like forever, Madoka looked back over her shoulder. She saw Homura taking her cat back from Hitomi, thanking the green magical girl for taking care of Amy for the past year. While Hitomi went back to her parents, Homura simply looked on at the Kanames, wearing a mixture of guilt and longing on her face.

"Hey, aren't you gonna come join us?" Madoka called out to Homura, waving for the dark magical girl to come over. With a reluctant sigh, Homura walked over to them with Amy's cat carrier in tow.

"We were worried about you, y'know." Tomohisa said.

"You were?"

"Well yeah, you went missing for a whole year." Junko said. "How'd you think we'd feel about it?"

That was the first time Homura could remember anyone other than Madoka being concerned about her. She wasn't even really sure how to respond to it, having been alone for pretty much all her life. All she could do was stand there awkwardly. Madoka didn't oblige her to say anything, though. She already knew Homura was always the strong silent type. Or at least that was the front she was used to putting on. Evidently Junko and Tomohisa picked up on that as well.

"Don't worry, Homura." Madoka said. "As long as you have us, you'll never have to be alone again."

"Yep, and if you want to stay with us while they rebuild the city, you and your cat are more than welcome to." Junko added.

"But dear, what about your allergies?" Tomohisa asked.

"Oh, I'll manage. It's the least I could do for her."

Homura sniffled. "Thank you, Mrs. Kaname."

"No need to be so formal. You can just call me Junko. Or better yet, call me 'Mom', alright?" Junko said as she pulled Homura into the Kaname family's group hug.

---

"Sorry we're late." Madoka said as she and Homura entered the Sakura family's church. Mami had called the Holy Octet to meet here. While Kyoko and Momo didn't like being here, it was the only meeting place the team had since Mitakihara City was still in ruins. Dilapidated as the church was, it was still in better condition than any of their homes, which would likely take weeks or even months to repair.

"Looks like that's everyone." Nagisa said. "So what'd you want to talk about, Mami?"

"About our future, to put it simply." Mami replied. "I've been thinking about what Mammon said right before he died. As evil as his methods were, he was protecting the universe from a very real threat, assuming he was telling the truth. Without him, we'll have to find another way to combat entropy."

"And on top of that, we only got rid of the Incubators living on Earth." Sayaka added. "I doubt Kyubey's home planet is gonna take this lying down."

"I don't suppose they'd be willing to cooperate with us, would they?" Hitomi wondered. "If entropy affects the whole universe, shouldn't we work together to solve it?"

"Not likely." Sayaka said. "Those aliens don't think like humans do, and they don't understand our values either. We're just too different for that to work."

"I guess that was a bit optimistic of me." Hitomi mumbled.

"Don't get me wrong, killing Mammon was the right move. We had no choice." Mami said. "But getting rid of him is gonna have some far-reaching consequences." The yellow magical girl let out a heavy sigh. "Our fight isn't over yet, not by a longshot."

An ominous silence fell over the eight magical girls as they considered the implications of what Mami just said. The Incubators' home planet was the more imminent concern. While it was hundreds of lightyears away from Earth, the space-travel technology at their disposal likely made that a non-issue. Kyubey's superiors would almost certainly be here sooner or later. How they'd respond to Kyubey's death was anyone's guess. Knowing them, the best case scenario would likely be sending a replacement. And at worst, it could mean a full blown alien invasion, one that Earth would be ill-prepared to fight off.

Of course, entropy was the much bigger issue. Even the most brilliant scientists on Earth couldn't overcome the laws of thermodynamics. Kyubey's civilization was supposedly far more advanced, but the best solution they could come up with was harvesting human souls, and who knew how effective that really was. Finding a humane solution to the problem wouldn't be easy.

"Hey, cheer up, will ya? You're acting like we lost." Kyoko broke the silence. "We beat Kyubey once and for all, we saved the whole world, and all eight of us made it out alive. Considering how things usually go for us, I'd say we did pretty damn good." That seemed to lift everyone else's spirits, if only a little. "And whatever Kyubey's home planet throws at us, it won't be anything the Holy Octet can't overcome."

"Well, let's not get overconfident." Mami said. "But I agree. As long as we stay sharp, we should be able to handle things."

The Holy Octet continued to speculate about their upcoming trials until Sayaka noticed the sun setting. "Looks like I should get going. Gotta meet Mom and Dad for dinner."

"Great, I'm starving." Kyoko said.

"Yeah, me too." Momo added.

Sayaka sighed. If Momo ate even half as much as Kyoko did, the Mikis would likely go broke in less than a month. But Kyoko was effectively family at this point, and that meant Momo was too. Putting her up alongside her sister was the least Sayaka could do. With that, the three girls walked out of the church.

"I'd better go too. I have to help plan Dad and Ms. Saotome's wedding." Nagisa said. "Mami, can you walk me home?"

"Alright." Mami took Nagisa's hand. "And I'll get you that Jarlsberg on the way."

"Hey, um…" Hitomi mumbled as she walked up to Mami. "When you're done with that… you wouldn't want to join me for dinner, would you?"

Mami smiled. "I'd love to."

Nagisa simply cooed as the three of them left through the front door.

Madoka smiled, glad that she and all of her friends could finally be happy. Well, almost all of them. The pink magical girl turned to see Homura standing next to the ruined altar, brooding as she usually did. "Homura, are you okay?" Madoka asked as she walked down the aisle and joined Homura at the altar.

Homura took a moment to answer. "Madoka… I don't deserve this. I don't deserve you."

"Hey, remember what we agreed to." Madoka said. "You can't keep beating yourself up like that."

"But I betrayed you. I stole your powers, I wiped your memories, and I imprisoned you in that fake universe." Homura looked away from Madoka. "How was I any better than Kyubey?"

Madoka shook her head. "No, don't ever compare yourself to that monster. He only saw me as a means to an end. But you went through Hell and back to save my life. Even when you tore me from the Law of Cycles, you were just doing what you thought was best for me."

"Madoka…" Homura gathered her courage and turned to face Madoka. "All I ever wanted was to have you back. I can't live without you, Madoka. You mean everything to me."

"Believe me, the feeling's mutual. I can't live without you either, Homura. I mean, I wouldn't even be alive if you hadn't wished to go back in time."

Homura sighed. "I wouldn't be alive if you didn't save me from that witch."

"See, we really can't live without each other. All the more reason for us to stay together."

Homura couldn't argue with that. Staying together really was what was best for both her and Madoka, no matter how Homura looked at it.

"I can't say for sure what the future will bring, and I can't promise things will be perfect." Madoka took hold of Homura's hands. "But what I do know is that we'll face it together. Besides, I did promise I'd always be there for you. Do you promise you'll always be there for me?"

Homura closed her ears to that voice of self-hatred. Being there for Madoka was what she desired from the bottom of her heart. She had no reason to deny herself that happiness anymore. For the first time since she could remember, a genuine smile appeared on Homura's face. "I do." The dark magical girl took a deep breath. "And do you promise that whatever we face in the future, you'll let me protect you?"

"I do." Madoka smiled just as bright. "Hey, I just realized, we never finished talking after we saw The Nutcracker. I never got to tell you-"

"Madoka, you don't have to-"

"Please, just let me say it."

After a pause, Homura nodded.

"I love you, Homura."

A simple "I love you, too." was all that escaped Homura's breath as the two embraced one another and sealed their vows with a kiss.